


and i think it's gonna be a long, long time

by elysianprince



Category: Marvel's Avengers (Video Game), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, M/M, Marvel's Avengers Spoilers, Mentions of Death, Mentions of alcoholism, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26380798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elysianprince/pseuds/elysianprince
Summary: “Well, since we’re going to die anyway, you have any, I don’t know… Last confessions?”Or what would have happened if Steve and Tony had been more open about their feelings in the escape pod.---Spoilers for Marvel's Avengers Reassemble story campaign.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 18
Kudos: 132





	and i think it's gonna be a long, long time

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this right after I finished the mission to the satellite because I just absolutely adore how the game portrays these two.
> 
> And yes, I had to use Rocket Man lyrics as the title. The game basically told me to. It was honestly that or something from Space Oddity, so.
> 
> As the summary also stated, spoilers lie ahead.

He’s almost afraid to look away. Afraid that if he does, it’ll all turn out to be just another dream, and Steve won’t be at his side when he looks again.

It’s like Tony can finally breathe again with Steve beside him. Ironic, since they’re about to suffocate. But even with impending death looming, it feels as though a weight has been lifted off of him.

They’re going to die here. Well, probably. The chances of any of their teammates being able to reach them are slim to none, even by Avengers standards. The team doesn’t even know Steve is alive, and honestly Tony doesn’t think they would ( _or should_ ) launch themselves into space to look for him after such a massive explosion. Though maybe there’s a chance they would come looking for the supposed inhumans he had come to save...

Well. The odds say they’re going to die here, so Tony is spending every moment he can memorizing Steve’s face. 

He looks a little bit older, another reminder of those five years. For someone who’s been in a coma for the past five years, Steve still somehow manages to look good. Tony is trying to keep his eyes from wandering too much and doing his best to not focus on the wires still attached to Steve’s body. They’re a terrible reminder of what was happening to their beloved captain while everyone had thought him to be gone.

After Tony had found Steve in that cryopod, he hadn’t wanted to let go. He would have been perfectly fine with holding onto Steve forever. Tony had brushed it off as making sure Steve didn’t fall because of his unsteady legs, but he wasn’t even sure which of them had truly needed the support to stay upright.

Steve seems so at peace as he gazes out into the vastness of space. Tony would be lying if he said it isn’t the reason he’s been able to keep his calm in the face of certain death (it _is,_ and it has been so many times before).

At least they’re together at the end. Part of him had always hoped his final moments would be with Steve.

He still can’t take his eyes off the man beside him. The faint light coming in through the glass of the escape pod is reflecting in his clear blue eyes, and oh, how Tony hadn’t truly realized how much he had missed those eyes until this moment. Steve had said their view of the stars was good, but Tony’s is even better.

“How about you?” Steve asks, interrupting his thoughts.

“What about me, Cap?”

“Any confessions to make?” The glint in his eyes was somehow challenging and hopeful at the same time. 

He thinks about responding with some witty joke, but this… this is truly it. This is his last chance. A chance he never even thought he would get, especially after losing Steve on A-Day. 

Tony thought his unspoken words would die with him. What does he have to lose at this point? Well, _besides_ Steve’s friendship and respect, but the man is too good to actually think any less of him if Tony’s feelings are unrequited. He likely wouldn’t say anything even if he felt differently; that’s the kind of person Steve is.

That’s the person Tony fell in love with.

So he takes his shot.

“Steve… I have missed you every moment of every day for the past five years.” He feels himself start to choke up as the rush of emotions hits, but he pushes through it. “It’s been… it’s been rough. _Really_ rough.”

He finds that he can’t quite voice the actual words. That alcohol didn’t burn away or dull the pain of the loss, and wearing Steve’s jacket couldn’t even start to mend the hole in Tony’s heart. The way Steve is looking at Tony tells him that he doesn’t have to say the words; that he understands without them.

After Tony falls quiet, Steve gently breaks the silence. 

“Thank you for finding me.” 

Of course Steve has the magnanimity to _thank_ Tony after he left the man in space for five goddamn years while he tried to drown in his own self pity. It’s too much. He hadn’t even been _looking_ for Steve. He’d been alive all this time, and Tony had failed him.

“What…? Steve, I—” The emotions he had managed to keep at bay break loose at that. “I love you so much, I shouldn’t have given up so easily. But you— you’d been my rock for so long that I was lost without you.”

He manages to choke out a wry laugh through the tears. “You’re like a damn cockroach, I should’ve known you were still alive. I should’ve—”

“Tony.” Steve turns his seat towards Tony and puts his hand on the shoulder of the armor. He looks into Steve’s blue eyes and isn’t sure if the poor lighting is playing tricks on him or if Steve is close to tears as well.

Steve leans closer, and suddenly lips are gently pressing against Tony’s, and the rush of guilt ebbs away. It takes a second before he realizes he should probably kiss Steve back. His lips are a little bit chapped, but the softness and warmth are heavenly in the chill of the escape pod.

When they finally part, Steve pulls away just far enough to be able to look into Tony’s eyes again. 

“You just wanted to shut me up,” Tony pouts, sticking out his bottom lip. He definitely notices how Steve’s eyes quickly flick down to his mouth.

“Well, it worked,” Steve chuckles. Tony can’t help but laugh too, even if the entire moment feels a bit surreal. Surely he’s just having some sort of near-death hallucination or something… though Steve still hasn’t moved away entirely.

“Tony,” he starts again, scooting closer on the edge of his seat. He reaches up to hold Tony’s face as best as he can given the armor. His thumb gently caresses Tony’s cheek, wiping away a tear streak left behind. “I love you, too.”

“Oh,” he says dazedly.

There’s a beat.

“So, does that mean we can do that again?” Tony starts, words coming out in a rush. “Because it’s probably the best use of whatever oxygen we have left and—”

Steve cuts him off again with another kiss, and Tony can feel his smile against his lips. Steve isn’t cold from his second stint as a Capsicle anymore, and he wishes he could rip off these damned gauntlets and touch Steve with his bare hands.

In his peripheral vision, there’s an extraordinarily bright flash of lights, and Tony breaks away from Steve’s kiss to reluctantly check it out. When the light dies down, there’s nothing but Norse god in the pod’s viewport.

“Well, look who it is. Am I always—” Thor stops and takes in their current state. “Am I interrupting?”

“Yes,” Tony answers, unable to keep the hint of annoyance out of his voice.

Steve scoots back in his seat and turns around to address Thor properly, and Tony has to bite back a whine at the loss of contact.

He doesn’t really listen as Thor and Steve are catching up, though he thinks he hears the god congratulate the two of them on finally pulling their heads out of their asses. Tony’s too busy running back through his moment with Steve repeatedly, feeling entirely too much like he’s dreaming.

Though really, isn’t this kind of craziness just par for the course at this point?

“Not that I’m not eternally grateful for the save, big guy,” Tony grumbles. “But couldn’t you have taken a few more minutes to find us?” He can hear Thor’s booming laughter outside the pod.

As Thor pushes the escape pod into Earth’s atmosphere, Tony turns to Steve and tries to will himself into ignoring that their godly teammate can probably hear their entire conversation now.

“So, was that a one time deal or…?” He doesn’t finish his question, waiting for Steve to add in what he truly wants to hear.

“I sure hope not.” Steve has the audacity to _blush_ now that their doom isn’t quite so imminent.

“Okay, just- just checking. I wasn’t sure if it was like a heat of the moment thing because we were dying or—” Apparently, Steve has decided to make cutting his rambling off with kisses a new habit.

“You know, I’m just going to talk even more now if that’s the reward I get,” Tony playfully grins at him, and Steve’s eyes crinkle as he returns the smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> [tumblr](https://elysian-prince.tumblr.com/)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/elysianprince)


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